Rumor: ‘Ghostbusters III’ Getting A May 2011 Start Date?

Rumor: 'Ghostbusters III' Getting A May 2011 Start Date?

Update: We missed this last month, but the very funny site FilmDrunk reported that the script was not being rewritten, that Stupnisky and Eisenberg’s script has been met with approval all around, and that the only holdout right now is (surprise) Bill Murray. Should he decide to bite the bullet, production will happen next year with a December 2012 release planned. But yeah, like we said, May 2011 seems tentative at this point.

With the awesomely curmudgeonly Bill Murrayshowing up at the Scream Awards last month in his full Ghostbusters gear, it was nice boost of good cheer toward the franchise after he spent the summer spitting vitriol at the possibility of “Ghostbusters 3.” Also cropping up last month, an Italian Ghostbusters fansite reported that Sony had allegedly greenlit the project, but those reports seemed dubious as earlier in the month it was revealed that “The Office” scribes Gene Stupnisky and Lee Eisenberg were out, and Dan Aykroyd was re-writing the script with Harold Ramis.

So take it with a grain of salt, but Production Weekly has tweeted that Sony is planning to put the film into production in May 2011. So could the studio be moving forward with the project even as Aykroyd and Ramis are rewriting? If they liked the foundation set up by Stupnisky and Eisenberg we suppose it’s possible, but if we had to guess, we’d say it’s probably a tentative start date pending a final script. Remember, this project has been kicking around for a least a couple of years now and at one point was being planned to hit theaters next year. Obviously, that’s not going to happen and it looks like if it goes forward, we’re not going to see anything until 2012 at the earliest.

Production Weekly also claims that Ivan Reitman will be in the director’s chair, but last we heard, the studio wasn’t exactly keen on the idea and were hoping to go with someone younger and hipper and whose last two movies weren’t “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” and “Evolution.” However, a powerful deal struck years ago by Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman gives them tremendous veto power over all creative decisions for the franchise, including who sits in the director’s chair, so it’s certainly possible Sony has had to relent.

As has been previously reported, the original Ghostbusters gang would return for this film, but would train a new generation of ghost hunters, presumably setting up the first film in a newly revitalized franchise. We weren’t so hot on this idea in the first place, and as development has dragged on we’ve simply become indifferent. It’s been over two decades since “Ghostbusters 2“; does anyone really care anymore?